Justification:
Although uncommon, this species is present throughout the Mediterranean, and also along the eastern Atlantic coastlines of Europe and West Africa. The most likely threat to this species is degradation of its coralligenous habitat. However, this threat is found in only a limited portion of the range of this species (probably mainly in Europe and the Mediterranean Sea). Although there is no specific population information available for this species, because there appear to be few threats to it throughout most of its range, it is listed as Least Concern.

In the eastern Atlantic, this species is present from northern-central Norway southwards, excluding the Baltic Sea but including the southern coast of the United Kingdom, to Gabon in the Gulf of Guinea, including Madeira and the Canary Islands, but excluding the Azores and Cape Verde Islands.

In the Mediterranean Sea, the species is generally widespread, but it is very rare in the eastern Mediterranean, where it has been recorded from Lebanon but not from Israel in the Levant. It is not present in the Sea of Marmara nor in the Black Sea. This species probably also occurs around the main Mediterranean offshore islands, but additional infromation is needed (D. Pollard pers. comm. 2008).

This species usually lives in benthic coralligenous habitats. It also inhabits rocky overhangs, rocky cliffs and the entrances to underwater caves (Sartoretto et al. 1997), and it can also occur over sandy substrates (Golani et al. 2006). It is generally a solitary species but can also occur in small groups. Its diet consists mainly of benthic invertebrates. (D. Pollard pers. comm. 2008)

There are no known major threats. In the Mediterranean, minor threats may include habitat degradation due to siltation and eutrophication. In the shallower parts of its depth range, boat anchoring may also detrimentally affect its habitat.